


Albus Potter and his Fifth Year Infatuation

by Scorbus_love



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Gay Heartbreak, Gay Romance, Harry Potter Next Generation, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Hogwarts Fifth Year, M/M, Teen Angst, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Gay Love, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-08-14 00:23:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7991800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scorbus_love/pseuds/Scorbus_love
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Albus and Scorpius are going into their fifth year at Hogwarts, recovering from their adventure the previous year. Rose may finally reciprocate Scorpius's feelings for her, but Albus is discovering his own feelings for his friend and pushing him away. How will he be able to cope with these feelings while Rose and Scorpius hit it off like never before? Will their friendship be able to withstand Scorpius' new relationship?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Off to Hogwarts

“Albus get up already; it’s almost time to leave!” Lily screamed at the top of her lungs at her unresponsive brother once again before slamming his bedroom door in frustration. Albus contemplated going back to sleep for a few minutes before turning over and finding his clock had just ticked ten. Remembering that today was the day he left for Hogwarts, the teen dragged himself out of bed. Still fairly groggy, he hastily put on his clothes from the day before, too lazy to find new ones. After packing up some last minute belongings into his suitcase, he opened his door, the light flooding his eyes stunning him for a moment before heading downstairs for breakfast.

“Finally he awakens!” cracked Albus’s mother with a playful grin on her face as she helped Lily stuff her trunk, “There are pancakes over there, help yourself.”

  
Judging by the cookware strewn about on the counter as well as the leftover breakfast crumbs sprinkling the entire kitchen island, Albus guessed the rest of the Potter family had been up for a while. The pancakes were noticeably cold as he picked one up and took a bite.

  
“How come you guys didn’t wake me up sooner?” Albus inquired with a bit of an irritable tone.

  
“We tried to, but you wouldn’t budge,” Ginny replied matter-of-factly, “I guess you really needed some extra sleep,” With a quick flick of her wand, Lily’s case closed and locked itself securely. “Now brush your teeth, get your trunk and help your father and James pack the car, we’re leaving in 15 minutes.”

* * *

The car ride was rather uneventful as usual. Lily nattered on about how excited she was for her third year at Hogwarts to Ginny while Harry discussed N.E.W.T.s with James. It all melted into obnoxious white noise to Albus as he observed the scenery whizzing past the car window.

  
His mind started to wander with thoughts of the upcoming year of course taking the forefront. How would he like his classes? He was usually rubbish at charms and transfiguration although he got along well enough, but Potions class was usually where he and Scorpius excelled. His thoughts began to fill with memories of the disastrous adventure he and his best friend and gotten into.

Due to their time-traveling escapade the previous year, the pair had decided to lay low for a while and avoid attention. It had worked fairly well, even after their classmates heard of what happened, although Rose had finally taken a liking to Scorpius much to his excitement. Perhaps Scorpius would be getting that date with Rose he so desperately wanted. That thought caused a lurch in Albus’ stomach. He didn’t particularly like the idea of Rose having ‘something’ with Scorpius, but he guessed that was because he was still bitter towards his cousin after the years of dismissal they received from her. Even so, while Scorpius had been invited to a few of the Potter family’s summer activities and vice versa, most of their summer contact was through letters and he was looking forward to finally seeing his best friend in person again.

* * *

Platform 9 ¾ was busy as ever on such an occasion.

“As many Hogwarts students as there were in my day, I don’t remember the platform ever being this packed,” Harry remarked as he tried to look over the wall of train goers. 

Albus did the same looking for a sign of Scorpius. The Potters all took hands and continued through the bustling crowd. Faint whispers and murmurs followed the family through the platform whenever the kids headed off to Hogwarts and this year was no different. Between that and his absentmindedness, Albus was having an especially hard time keeping up with his family, running into people left and right when he found himself on the ground after a particularly bad clash. His trunk was knocked out of his hand which unfortunately led to several passersby tripping over it.

  
“Oh lord, I’m so sorry I-“

  
“Yeah well why don’t you just look where you’re going next t-“ Albus began crossly, rubbing the bump on the back of his head before meeting the eyes of the panicking student and noticing unmistakably blonde hair. A smile immediately found itself on the young Potter’s face.

  
“Scorpius!”

  
“Albus!” responded an excited Malfoy without missing a beat. Albus frantically embraced his friend who affectionately returned the gesture.

  
“I think I’m getting used to this hugging thing.” The spindly wizard said with a chuckle.

Albus stuttered in agreement, trying to hide his blushing. He had noticed that his best friend’s looks had improved quite a bit since the last time he saw him even if it was only a couple months. His face had become more sculpted while still retaining that friendly appearance that Albus had grown quite fond of. Scorpius’s figure had also filled out quite nicely, although he was still on the thinner side, characteristic of the Malfoy family.

  
“You seem to have grown over the summer, Albus,” commented the blonde eyeing the wizard in front of him. “You’re almost as tall as me now!” Scorpius let out a bit of a snicker.

The gap between their heights had indeed gotten much closer since last year, but Albus was still a few inches shorter. Noticing their chat, Albus’s parents doubled back and greeted Scorpius and his father.

  
“It’s so good to see you two!” said Ginny with a warm smile as she pulled Scorpius in for a hug.

  
“Good to see you too, Mrs. Potter!” Scorpius replied happily, a bit suffocated by Ginny’s affection. Harry and Draco exchanged a cordial handshake accompanied by a look of approval and a couple friendly smiles.

  
“Scorpius!” Lily yelled and latched herself onto the boy with a satisfied smile as soon as her mother had released him.

  
“Oh hello, Lily.” he replied calmly and returned her embrace for a second or two.

Albus felt his cheeks warm at the sight, but he quickly cooled down when Scorpius flashed him a wide eyed look of slight irritation as he pried Lily off of himself. Ginny, Draco, and Harry had begun their own conversation when the Granger-Weasleys joined the group. Hermione and Ginny immediately began chattering away while the fathers had less talkative interactions. Albus and his siblings greeted their cousins until Rose strolled up to him and Scorpius. His heart dropped as he looked over and saw his friend blushing uncontrollably at her.

  
“Hey, Scorpius.” Just those words accompanied with her subtle smirk seemed to shock the infatuated teen.

  
“H-hello there, Rose,” Scorpius sputtered out.

Albus couldn’t help but shoot them a harsh glare, but the pair thankfully didn’t notice. The awkward conversation between Albus’s cousin and his best friend caused a burning pit in the stomach. It seemed to last forever but was, as well as all other conversing, cut short by the Hogwarts Express’s boarding signal.

  
“Oh, we’d better get going.” Scorpius noted with a sigh. As the families regrouped to say their goodbyes, Draco turned his son around and set a hand on his shoulder.

  
“Scorpius, be safe this year and try to stay out of trouble.” The younger Malfoy was pulled into a firm but loving embrace and given a goodbye kiss on the forehead.

  
“Love you, Dad” said Scorpius with a smile. His father returned both the statement and the grin.

  
“Alright, Albus, no messing with the timeline this year, promise?” Harry joked to the anxious teen.

  
“Yes, dad,” answered the teen with an eye roll. Harry was glad to see an improvement in his relationship with his son. It still wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t complaining.

  
“Lily, do you have everything?” asked Ginny as she checked Lily’s trunk and helped her daughter hoist her cat’s kennel on top of it. “Alright, Lulu, listen to your teachers, okay? And make sure to take care of Misty.” Lily nodded her head to her mother’s requests and absentmindedly let Misty play with the finger she had stuck in her kennel.

  
“And James, try not to worry too much about your N.E.W.T.s. Study, and I know you’ll do great.” Harry assured his eldest son with a pat on the shoulder.

  
The young wizards all packed onto the Hogwarts Express, which had been extended to accommodate the increasing numbers of students. Scorpius and Albus found a compartment accompanied by Rose and Lily and set their belongings down with a thump. Rose and Scorpius sat together and started another conversation, but Albus was too busy scowling to pay attention to what they were telling each other. Lily crashed down next to her brother and took up most of the seat on the bench, sprawling her legs out and setting her head on his shoulder with a small intention of annoying him. 

The train let out one final departing whistle as its wheels began rolling. The group of students waved one last goodbye out the window at their families while the train sped up and headed off to Hogwarts. Albus was glad the summer was over, but when he looked over at the ‘lovebirds’ sitting across from him, he didn’t have the greatest feeling about his fifth year either.


	2. Scorpius' new friend

Albus let out an irritated sigh while Rose and Scorpius continued to blather on to each other, completely ignoring the other two in the compartment.

“Did you know there’s a wizard in the United States that created a sleeping spell that affects dragons? He thinks it will really help with controlling and studying dragons better.”

“That’s amazing! But wouldn’t the dragon’s hide resist the spell without more wizards performing it at once?” Rose countered back to her newfound academic partner.

As he observed the two discuss together, Albus felt sick to his stomach. He hadn’t thought of it before, but Rose really was Scorpius’s intellectual equal. She’d be able to match him in a way Albus never could. That’s what worried him the most; That Scorpius would eventually get bored of him and move on to bigger and better things. In this case, Rose Granger-Weasley. He knew Scorpius had an attraction to her, but he never expected her to return the feelings.

“I mean, a dragon’s skin is incredibly-“

“Oh my god, do you two ever get tired of talking?” Albus cut Rose off with his comment and shot her a scathing glare.

“Do you ever get tired of being a selfish, boring, little prat?”

The ‘boring’ comment caused Albus’ blood to boil. The two cousins shot insult after insult at each other getting more and more ruthless as the argument escalated. Scorpius and Lily could practically feel the flames sparking off from the looks they exchanged.

“Alright, alright, I don’t know what’s gotten into you two but you both obviously need to cool down!” Scorpius spoke up. Rose was the first to agree.

“You’re absolutely right, Scorp.” Albus flinched at his cousin’s choice of words. He was usually the only one to use that nickname for Scorpius.

“Why don’t you and I find a compartment with less hostile company?” Rose reached out a hand towards Scorpius.

Albus’ expression of anger betrayed him for a second when he met his friend’s eyes. They weren’t filled with indignation, or pity. They were full of pleading. Albus’ scowl softened. He could feel that Scorpius felt bad for talking to Rose for so long, and he was the one who caused his best friend to feel that way.

“Well?” pushed Rose with a raised eyebrow.

Scorpius broke eye contact with Albus and all the anger left in his body was replaced with regret. When the pale boy’s fingers landed in her hand, Rose took the opportunity to whisk him away to another compartment. Before they fully went out of sight, Albus caught a glimpse of Rose intertwining her fingers with Scorpius’. The disappointed teen slumped back in his seat while his sister took the now vacant place across from him.

“Well, you really made a muck of things with that one, didn’t you?” Lily prodded before popping a chocolate frog in her mouth.

Taking a look at the card, she let out a satisfied hum and turned the card around for Albus to see.

“Look, I got Dumbledore! Never had one of him before.” Albus gave a quick nod and insincere smile of approval to his sister before returning to his miserable state. They both stayed silent for a while, listening to the sound of the wheels grinding along the tracks before Lily opened her mouth.

“Oh, cheer up, Albie, I’m sure he’ll come around. It’s not like he can forget about you forever,” Another poor choice of words that made Albus’ stomach churn. _Forget._ “Besides, you two are the best pair of friends I’ve ever laid eyes on, Rose could never replace you. To be honest, she’s a tad standoffish. She won’t make him happy in the long run.”

A chuckle escaped from the gloomy boy’s lips.

“Thanks, Lily, but I’m not sure that’s entirely true,” Albus began as he pulled himself into an upright postion. “He needs somebody to talk about books and magic theory and nerd stuff with. I can’t keep up with him like that. I’m just scared someday he’ll get bored of me…”

“Albus Potter, you make Scorpius laugh and enjoy himself more than anyone else he knows, he would never trade that away for some bookish brat.” Lily said sternly, making steely eye contact with her brother.

Albus didn’t respond, but his sister’s advice really helped him relax for a few hours, the both of them eventually falling asleep to the light hum of the train.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit of a shorter chapter! They should be longer from now on.


	3. Inside Thoughts

“Albus!”

The dreaming teen pried his eyes open after being shook awoke, meeting the soft eyes of his best friend.

“Scorpius? Where’s Rose?” Albus responded in a low tone.

“She and I found a compartment with James and some other 7th years, but it just wasn’t for me. Too rowdy.” Albus found a bit of satisfaction in knowing that Scorpius preferred him to Rose’s popular crowd.

“Well, I for one am glad to have you back.” Albus said with a smile and sat up before remembering why Scorpius left in the first place, “And mate, I’m really sorry about what happened earlier, I honestly don’t mind you talking. In fact, I enjoy it quite a lot.” He hoped the apology didn’t sound too creepy. The sheepish teen could feel a blush creeping into his cheeks and cursed himself silently for being so nervous around Scorpius. He was just Scorpius! His best friend; Just Scorpius. Noticing he and the boy in front of him had held eye contact for an unusual amount of time, Albus broke the stare and wiped the excited look off his face.

“So,” Scorpius began while planting himself firmly next to Albus, “How were things while I was gone?” Moving his eyes to the still sleeping Lily and noticing a bit of a drool dripping out the side of her mouth, her jumper covered in candy wrappers and chocolate stains.

“I take it things weren’t very lively in my absence.” Joked the blonde, motioning to the passed out girl across from them.

“Don’t be too proud of yourself; we filled the void in our hearts with candy.”Albus responded matching Scorpius’s cheekiness.

For the final hours of the trip, the pair of Slytherins messed around with magical candy which had a myriad of effects. Lily finally woke up when Scorpius ate a truffle that elongated his nose into a trunk and stretched his ears into those of an elephant’s. With one powerful honk, the sugar-filled girl awoke violently and threw a book at the elephant in return. The compartment erupted into laughter while Scorpius’ face returned to normal.

“You want to try some?” Albus asked and handed an innocuous looking gummy to his sister.”Uncle Ron said it’s a mystery candy!” the boy informed her with a wide grin.

 Lily reluctantly placed it on her tongue and chewed it, bracing for the worst. When nothing happened, she swallowed it proudly and shook her shoulders.

“I don’t feel anything.” Albus and Scorpius slumped back in disappointment. That was, until Lily winced at the tingle making it’s way through her fingers. Lifting her hands up, her face wrinkled in disgust at her now three-foot long fingernails.

“Ugh, what the hell, guys?!” pleaded Lily while the boys were beside themselves with laughter.  “Cut these off me!” Wiping his tears, Albus picked up the wrapper and read the information.

“Calm down, Lily, this says the effects shouldn’t last longer than five minutes.” The trickster announced while he eyed his sister’s still slowly growing nails.

“And Mum and Dad told me I only had to worry about candy from strangers…”  Lily said as her fingernails began to retract.

* * *

Eventually, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station and the head students and prefects began to shuffle students out the doors. Albus, Scorpius, and Lily packed up and slid open the compartment. James’ and Rose’s friends were laughing excessively loud at a joke that James had told, earning an eye roll from Albus from across the train car. As the three continued out of the exit, Scorpius looked back at the boisterous group behind them. He turned back, leaned down to Albus’ ear, and whispered:

 “Rose is so beautiful when she’s laughing!”

That simple phrase made Albus’ stomach do more than just turn. He felt like his insides were doing backflips and the words set his cheeks on fire. Stunned for a couple seconds, he thought he should probably respond.

“Oh, quit it, if you like her so much, why don’t you just go be her best friend instead?” Albus spat bitterly before hurrying off with Lily to the carriages.

Making their way through the forest path, the group stayed largely in silence while Scorpius glumly stayed a few paces behind. He absolutely hated when he and Albus fought. Albus was truly his only friend and the thought of losing him again was almost too much to bear.

 The irate teen sighed in frustration. He knew he shouldn’t be treating Scorpius like this, especially when he’d already apologized for his previous behavior, but he really couldn’t help it. Any time his friend so much as mentioned Rose it made the Potter’s blood boil. Why did it bother him so much?

“I mean, it’s not like Scorpius can just throw away 4 years of friendship for her,” Albus whispered, out of range of his sister. Like Lily said, he did make Scorpius laugh harder than anybody else and he was one of the few people Scorpius accepted physical affection from, and he knew that that had to mean something, “So why does it bother me so much?” He asked himself once again as they came up to their carriage.

The distracted Potter stopped in his tracks when he noticed the creature with the carriage harness around its body. He had always assumed that the carriages were just pulled magically like everything else, but the sight before him now had him taken aback.

Albus remembered something his dad told him after they got back from Godric’s Hollow. He warned him that seeing death changed people and how they perceived the world; that there were some creatures hidden out of sight from people who’d never witnessed it.

“Craig…” Albus whispered solemnly

Guessing this was one of those creatures, he stared for a few moments while Lily climbed into the cart and made conversation with a couple of fourth year Ravenclaws that had been waiting for the carriage to begin moving.

Turning his attention back to the creature, he noticed it looked and was almost pitch black if it weren’t the patches of dirt and seemingly rotting flesh spotting its skin. Its eyes, besides being clouded over, seemed like they sunk deep into its skull. The creature appeared so sickly that he could even see the outline of where the outer bone of its wing connected to its shoulder and spine. It was as if this thing used to be a horse, but certainly wasn’t anymore.

The Potter boy took a seat next to his sister and Scorpius soon scooted in as well, distracted by the same uncanny sight. Albus felt sick to his stomach when he remembered that he wasn’t the only one there to witness Craig’s murder. 

Scorpius and Albus sat in silence across from each other once again, their faces laid in their palms while Lily hit it off with the other passengers. Halfway through the ride, Albus took a breath and laid a hand on the knee in front of him.

“Can you see it too?” Albus asked quietly, just barely meeting Scorpius’ vacant gaze out of the corner of his eye.

The young Malfoy responded with a reluctant nod and Albus sat back in his chair. He knew Scorpius must have been ruminating on their classmate’s death as well, judging from the unusual paleness covering his face. The sight of his best friend in distress made him want to break down and hold him until they both felt better. Hugging Scorpius always made Albus feel better. Even when he felt out of place with his family or with school, whenever the weight of the world felt too much for him, Scorpius’ arms were always a place he could run to. Albus felt at home when he was with Scorpius. He really did love him.

 _But just as a friend!_ Albus thought in panic. He had never honestly considered the idea of liking boys. He thought girls were pretty and enjoyable to look at, but he didn’t want to be in a relationship with them or hold their hands or kiss a girl. But he couldn’t like boys! And he _definitely_ couldn’t like Scorpius! Their friendship was going through enough already with Rose…

Something clicked in Albus’ brain. All the jealousy and vitriol aimed at Rose wasn’t because he thought she was going to be a better friend to Scorpius. He couldn’t stand the idea of them being together because he wanted to be together with Scorpius. He wanted to be in a relationship with Scorpius, he wanted to hold his hand and he wanted…

Albus took in a deep breath and exhaled softly as the realization hit his brain

He was absolutely in love with Scorpius.

_Rose is going to kill me._


	4. The Start-of-Term Ceremony

 

          Unlike the other passengers, Albus and Scorpius stayed almost entirely silent as the carriage made its way through the forest path, breaking from their quiet thinking only to exchange sympathetic looks with each other. Albus’ heart broke every time he saw Scorpius’ depressed expression, being unable to do anything to cheer him up.

“So your dad really did duel with Voldemort at our age?” The Ravenclaw boy who couldn’t have been much older than Lily asked her in disbelief. She responded with a hum of confirmation and confident nod.

“Man, it must be awesome being The Chosen One’s kid…” the girl sitting next to the boy chimed in. Albus smirked at the irony and noticed the creature pulling the carriage stopped abruptly with a slight whimper and pawed at the ground in front of the castle. The boy sitting across from Lily excitedly hopped out of the coach and reached out a hand for her.

“Why, thank you…Uh what was your name again?” the redhead asked, pulling her hand back slightly.

“Oliver Thatch. You can call me Ollie, or really whatever you like,” The boy answered, smiling ear to ear. Lily accepted his gesture as he helped her to the ground and continued their conversation from before. The other girl wasn’t amused.

“You spend the first 14 years of your life together and you’d think he’d help you out of the carriage before nattering on to a girl he just met.” She said sarcastically and hopped down after the two.

“Are you two…?”

“Yes, this is my sister.” Oliver responded nervously.

“Twin sister, actually. Yeah, it’s pretty hard to tell when one of us is clearly so much better looking than the other.” The young wizard went red at his sister’s comment. “Name’s Samantha, but you can call me Sam, or really whatever you like” the freckled girl said, exaggerating the end of her sentence for an obvious jab at her brother.

“If it helps, Ollie, I think you look just fine.” Lily flashed the embarrassed boy a reassuring smile. Oliver’s face flooded with red for a completely different reason.

Albus and Scorpius stepped out of the carriage and grabbed their trunks while the new trio of friends made their way into the school.

 “They’re called Thestrals. They can only be seen by people who’ve seen death.” Scorpius said forlornly. Albus dropped his luggage and pulled his friend in for a tight hug.

“It wasn’t your fault…” He muffled into his shoulder. Scorpius was touched by the statement and pulled him closer as well.

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened to Craig either, Albus. There was nothing we could have done.” Tears began to soak Scorpius’ shirt.

“I-I’m sorry,” Albus brushed himself off as he pulled away from the other boy, trying to gather his bearings.  “I just didn’t like seeing you like that…”

“It’s not very fun to watch you feeling sad either.” Scorpius gave Albus a comforting smile and rubbed his shoulder while the distraught teen wiped his tears.

 “Y’think Professor Hopkins still has that big ol’ mole on her chin?” Albus asked in between sniffles with a chuckle, trying to pull himself together. Scorpius smirked.

“I don’t know, that thing must be cursed or something, it doesn’t seem to be getting any better!”

 His answer caused a grin to grow on the Potter’s face. The pair picked up their trunks and happily followed the other students into Hogwarts with their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders.

* * *

Having sat themselves at the familiar Slytherin table, Albus and Scorpius listened intently to Professor McGonagall’s commencement speech.

“Welcome students to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! To get the term started, I would like to introduce you to some new faculty. Our latest Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Greenwood,” Motioning to the table behind her, McGonogall nodded at a young woman with short bright red hair.

Adjusting her glasses, the nervous teacher stood up with a chortle and gave the student body a mildly uncomfortable wave. She was wearing a decorative green and purple dress accompanied by a scarf around her neck and while the professor’s attire looked like something Albus would expect to see on a muggle schoolteacher, it presented a magical competence about her.

Turning the crowd’s attention to the other side of the table, McGonagall introduced the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Norwell. This time, a man who looked about in his 30s stood up, his face dappled with patches of facial hair while the obsidian hair on top of his head matted together as it stuck out at the top. Unlike the previous newcomer, Professor Norwell seemed fairly cool about such an unfamiliar environment and his stylish suit, cloak, and tie combo seemed to emphasize that fact.

“I trust you all will treat your new professors with civility and respect.” The headmistress gave her signature side-eye with a pursed lip. “Now, if all the first year students will join Professor Hopkins for the sorting ceremony!”  

The nervous little first years all shuffled into a group as the gray-haired witch opened the parchment and began to call out names.

“Lauren Huffing!” announced Hopkins with almost a roar. Albus spotted a stunned little girl make her way to the stool. The sorting hat landed softly on her head and immediately sprang to life.

“Gryffindor!”

Lauren’s face filled with joy as she hopped off the stool and rushed to the cheering table.

“Theodore Biggens!”

Albus zoned out, only returning his attention at the occasional welcome of a new Slytherin student, his mind swimming with thoughts of his current predicament. He couldn’t believe he had a crush on his best friend. He was already an outcast, he didn’t need any trouble for being gay. Not to mention it would likely lose him his only friend; he would be completely alone. It seemed like there was just always something wrong with him. Why couldn’t he just be like everybody else?

“Genevieve Snell!”

The final student skipped up the steps and waited eagerly for the Sorting hat to declare her house.

"Hufflepuff!”

With the final sorting, Professor McGonagall stepped up to podium once more.

“Congratulations, first year students! From now on, the houses you have been sorted into will be a second family to you, and as a family, they are expected to welcome you with open arms.” A large applause rose to conclude the ceremony, “Now, let’s eat!”

As the headmistress flicked her wand, the candles lining the walls burned dazzlingly and lit the Great Hall with a wonderful light. The first years gasped in excitement as the food materialized onto the house tables.

The start of term feast was one of Albus’ favorite parts of the year. He loved the way it signified a chance to start over and made him excited about what the new year had to bring, even if most of the time what it brought wasn’t the most pleasurable. The food at the event certainly wasn’t a downside either; in fact, it was some of the best he ever got the chance to taste, even if he still had a personal inclination towards his mother’s cooking. Filling his plate and taking a couple bites, the meat was as juicy as he expected and the boiled potatoes were a fitting supplement.

Albus and Scorpius were digging hungrily into their meal when a fourth year leaned over to get their attention.

“Hey, Scorpius,”

The blonde teen turned his head in her direction.

“It’s ‘Jean’, right?” he asked. The girl nodded.

 “I saw you and Rose Granger-Weasley on the train, and I was wondering, um, are you and her...?” Scorpius’ cheeks went bright red and he and Jean looked across the hall at Rose who seemed to be enjoying herself exchanging stories with her friends.

“No, not yet, but if all goes as planned, we might be. I’d love to be with somebody as special as her.” The smitten Slytherin answered with a mischievous smile. Jean chuckled and sat back in her chair. Albus swallowed and tried his best to not seem visibly upset. He was a few seconds from crying, but he knew he couldn’t do it here in front of everyone and make a fool of himself.

“Hey, you gonna finish that?” Scorpius asked pointing to the surplus of food on Albus’ plate. Noticing his friend’s expression, he pulled back. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just lost my appetite,” Albus excused himself breathily, “I think I’m gonna head off, I don’t feel so good.” The boy stood up and tried to hurry out of sight, but Scorpius grabbed his hand before he could avoid it.

“Albus, tell me honestly, are you all right?” It hurt him so much to lie his best friend, and being forced to look Scorpius in the eye felt like his gaze would burn right through him. Speechless, Albus instead gave a quick nod and broke out of his grip before blending into the crowd of students exiting the Great Hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback! I'm trying to write as much as I can, but schoolwork really gets in the way of things, so this might be the last decent length chapter for a few days. I hope you guys enjoyed it!


	5. Late Night Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I know this took a long time! I've been really busy with school work and it's hard to keep up with all of it and keep writing. I'm trying my best, but don't expect updates every other day. I really appreciate all the positive feedback and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Edit: MY WRITING IS LITERALLY SO BAD OH MY GOD LMAO

Albus packed himself in with the crowd, hoping to become as small as possible.

“Alright, alright everyone, settle down.” The seventh year leading the crowd raised his voice and settled them in front of the entrance to the dungeons. “My name is Felix and I am Head Boy of Slytherin house, along with Abigail, Head Girl,” said Felix with a pat on the shoulder of the girl next to him, “That means that if anyone has a house issue, they can come to one of us and we will be sure to take care of it, and if need be, bring it to the Head of House, Professor Norwell.”

Albus shifted himself between students, avoiding Scorpius who had caught up with the rest of the house. He could tell that his friend was doing his best to make his way to him, but Albus found telling him the truth to be a terrifying prospect and he wasn’t exactly the best at lying.

“Now without further ado, we welcome you all to the Slytherin dungeon!”

The wall twisted and turned as the bricks unraveled to reveal a staircase leading to the common room. Albus tried to push his way through to get to the entrance early, but was unable to get past the mob of students before Scorpius grabbed his cloak and quickly pulled him around the corner.

“Albus, what is going on? You’ve been acting strange ever since we got on the train.” Blushing from how close Scorpius’ face was to his, Albus struggled to answer. The red-faced teen pulled his head back and it landed harshly on the cold stone he was pressed up against.

“I-I told you, I’m not feeling good.” He doubted Scorpius would buy it, but it was the best explanation he had.

“Is that it? Albus, please tell me the truth…” Albus stood stunned by Scorpius’ concerned gaze. He really did have beautiful eyes…“Is it because of Rose?” the cornered boy felt his heart drop, but resisted the urge to come clean.

“Everything is fine, Scorpius I just have an upset stomach. Like I said.”

Swallowing his disappointment, Albus hurried down to the Slytherin dungeon to avoid any further conversation. He barged through the crowd of housemates, accidentally knocking a few snake decorations to the floor and after some panicked apologizing, quickly made his way down the hallways. Albus knew that his housemates usually spent a bit of time in the common room before setting up in the dorms, so he’d have a good amount of it to mope once he got inside.

 Tossing his belongings onto the floor, Albus spread himself on the bed and closed the curtains before groaning into his pillow in frustration.

 _I’m such an idiot,_ he thought. Of course he had to let his stupid feelings destroy one of the only good relationships in his life. Scorpius’ words began to consume his thoughts.

_“I’d love to be with somebody as special as her.”_

There was no mistaking where his friend’s affection lied. Scorpius was in love with Rose and no amount of tears would change that fact.

_I thought that when he came back on the train that it meant…_

Realizing that if he kept thinking of Scorpius, he would cry again and it would be best to only do that once in one day, he looked for distractions. Uttering a faint _Lumos,_ the tip of his wand lit up and left a dim trail of magic as he waved his wand leisurely to and fro. Between the faint sound of voices in the common room and the hum of his spell, Albus found himself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Albus awoke to the sound of the rest of his dorm mates entering the room.  Unable to pull himself out of his lethargic state, he instead stayed only half awake while the others got ready for bed, doing their best not to wake him up. Steps made their way to bed next to Albus’s and turned into the sounds of jumbling sheets. Soon, the shuffling of the drowsy teens ceased and the only sound was the faint gurgling of the lake outside the window.

“Albus?” a whisper escaped from the bed beside him. “Albus?” Scorpius repeated himself louder and his friend finally parted his curtains.

“What do you want at such an ungodly hour, Scorpius?” was the irritable boy’s response.

“I want to-“ A groan came from another student’s bed. The spindly teen cast a Muffliato charm and sat himself on the edge of his bed with a pause before continuing. “-I don’t think I ever apologized for leaving you on the train. And I  honestly am really sorry.”

The sincerity was unmistakable. Albus’ face softened and he adjusted himself to mirror Scorpius’ position.

“It really wasn’t fair to you and I’m sorry for letting my feelings for Rose get the best of me. It’s obviously bothering you and I-”

“Come on, I wasn’t exactly being the most hospitable either…”  Albus interrupted. Scorpius could feel the twinge of guilt coming from his voice.

“But I hurt you, Albus, and I hate it when you’re not happy, especially when it’s because of me.” Sensing the regret in his friend’s statement, Albus’ indignation towards Scorpius melted away and the only thing he wanted was to somehow make him feel better. Scorpius' hands fidgeted with every word. He looked down, avoiding eye contact as he thought of the words he was trying to say. “And I don’t want you thinking that Rose could ever replace you, because there’s nobody in the world that could do that."

Albus’ heart began racing. He was suddenly glad that Scorpius brought this conversation up at night because if it weren’t for the darkness, he would have seen that his last statement filled Albus’ cheeks with crimson.

“U-um, thanks, mate…”

Albus never knew how, but Scorpius could always figure out when and why Albus was upset. It was a comfort knowing that no matter where he was, he always had somebody who understood him. However, this time that somebody had come to an incomplete conclusion and Albus had to bite his tongue to keep his emotions from spilling out.

“Well, good night.” Scorpius tucked himself back in bad and closed his curtains, leaving Albus in the quiet darkness. Still reeling from the conversation, he pulled himself together and laid his head softly on his pillow before pulling the covers up close to his face.

“Albus?"

“Yeah?”

“You are my best friend in the world.”

Albus’ lips immediately curled into a giddy smile.

“Y-you too, Scorpius.”

The two boys drifted off to sleep, the worries of the day taking no part in their thoughts compared to the conversation that left them reassured of their companionship.

* * *

_Albus was back on the train. Rain poured down the window and the only light was a dim beam coming from the ceiling. Looking across the compartment, Scorpius’ and Rose’s fingers were tangled together and they looked into each other’s eyes with fierce affection. Albus knew what was about to happen and tried to get out of his seat, but couldn’t move. He tried to speak out in objection, but no sound escaped as the couple’s lips pressed together. Finally freeing a hand from the paralysis, he reached out and just as his fingers touched Scorpius shirt, they melted away with the rest of his body._

_Suddenly, he found himself on the road to Hogwarts. No carriages or people were around and the rain came down violently on Albus’ head. He ran down the road towards Hogwarts when a pair of devilish eyes peered out through the fog and mist. Stopping in the gravel, Albus squinted trying to make out what the creature was. A smoky black hand shot out and tried to grab the boy, but he turned the other way and sprinted down the path. He lost his footing in the wet mud and was unable stop himself from falling to the ground as the inky claws finally reached him, words resounded in his head._

_“You’ll never be her."_


	6. Update

Hey y'all, I know I take forever to write these chapters, I'm really trying to pull myself together and actually get it done, but I am an incredibly lazy person and first-time fanfic writer. I'm really sorry if any of you guys care about this fic and hate having to wait for updates. I finally have everything written out in my head, I just need to type it out and post it. Keep in mind, I also have school until 4:30 everyday and theatre and just a lot of shit. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy what's in store!


	7. First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I am very busy with schoolwork and theatre and I have been having a lot of writer's block lately, but I think I'm past it now. So now, just enjoy chapter 6!

Chapter 6:

Albus woke up to the harsh introduction of morning light.

“Wake up already, we’re going to be late for breakfast!”

His habit of sleeping in past breakfast time was no different at Hogwarts and Scorpius was often the one to make sure he made it to the Great Hall on time. Albus groaned and weighted himself to the bed, but his friend knew how to deal with him at this point. Grabbing his wand from his bedside table, Scorpius pointed it at the lazy teen and a small red spark struck Albus.

“Ouch! Scorpius, what the hell!?” Albus quickly stood up and rubbed his backside.

“You weren’t getting up.” Scorpius responded cheekily and laid a small bop on his nose.

“Well there’s no need to cast a hex on me!” Still rubbing at the small sore on his rear, Albus shuffled out of bed and quickly threw his clothes on before he and Scorpius headed to the Great Hall. Their steps against the stone floor reverberated around the hallways, barely easing the tension between the two. Although their talk the previous night alleviated some of Albus’ fears, it didn’t get rid of his feelings for Scorpius, and it certainly wouldn’t get rid of Scorpius’ feelings for Rose.

The pair turned the corner into the great hall and sat at the Slytherin table while their morning meal materialized. Scorpius quickly grabbed a breakfast sandwich and hungrily bit into it, sending bits of egg and crust dropping onto his plate and the table to the mild disgust of his housemates, all except for Albus. Scorpius’ struggle to keep his breakfast in his mouth couldn’t help but make Albus chuckle. Scorpius swallowed before joining his friend in laughter while everyone else continued their newspaper-reading and conversations.

Albus caught a fourth year Slytherin down the table out of the corner of his eye laughing as well. Composing herself, she sighed and laid her cheek in her palm while eyeing the boy and giving him an affectionate grin. Albus pulled his cheeks into an uncomfortable smile and waved back nervously. It seemed to shock the student who quickly blushed and giggled to the side with her friends. The group of girls excitedly whispered to each other while occasionally looking back at the confused teen.

“Ey, mate I think Jean’s into you!” Scorpius whispered into Albus’ ear, biscuit crumbs tumbling out in between syllables.

“Well, that’s awkward for her.” Albus gathered himself and turned around to Scorpius, still struggling with his food. “Scorp, you’re a mess.”

After the boys finished their meal, the bell rang indicating the start of the first class of the day. Both boys had History of Magic which, although fascinating to Scorpius, was a class that Albus had trouble staying awake in. He wasn’t much for memorizing facts and events and he hated being the center of attention when the curriculum taught about his oh so interesting dad. While they headed upstairs to Classroom 72, Rose caught up from behind them and pulled herself close to Scorpius.

“Hey, Scorp! You excited for history of magic this year?”

Albus’ teeth grinded together. Rose’s very presence seemed to tax his patience.

“Very.” Scorpius responded while the trio climbed up the staircase. “I’ve always found the past very interesting. It’s fun to learn about what led the magical world to this point, y’know?”

“I know _exactly_ what you’re talking about.” Rose smiled and bumped shoulders with Scorpius, whose cheeks were now bright red. The other boy rolled his eyes and took a few steps ahead of his friend and cousin. Finally stepping into History of Magic, Albus quickly grabbed Scorpius’ arm and made sure they got seats together while Rose took one right beside them with a Ravenclaw friend.

          “Well somebody’s desperate for attention.” Rose muttered while the girl next to her chuckled.

          “That’s rich coming from the girl who can’t go two seconds without raising her hand and begging for the teacher’s attention.” Albus fired back

          “Prat.”

          “Bitch.”

          “Alright, students, welcome to History of Magic!” Professor Binns ended the conversation by introducing the students to the year’s curriculum. The ghost explained in a dreary tone, somehow more deadpan than previous years’, the cause of which Albus guessed was that Binns was ready to move on from the material world, that they would be covering multiple wizarding wars (lucky for Albus they were some of the only parts of the subject he enjoyed), relationship with muggles, famous wizards, and spell history and etymology.

 Scorpius spent the entire class taking notes of basically everything with quick and exact strokes, a handwriting style that always baffled Albus with its perfection. The careful push and pull of the pen was much more entertaining to watch than Professor Binns’ floaty speech. Albus’ eyes scanned up to focus on his best friend, whose brow was furrowed, tongue sticking out in concentration.

“Do you need to copy my notes or…?” Scorpius asked with a raised eyebrow. Albus’ snapped out of his distraction and sputtered out a response.

 “Oh! No, no, I was just daydreaming.”

“About what?” Scorpius’ question made Albus heart race.

 “Oh, uh, just thinking about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Wondering how he’ll do, y’know?” He never was very good at lying.

“Ah. Well you wanna know what I’m thinking about?”

“Huh?” Scorpius was about to answer when Professor Binns interrupted.

          “Please no _talking_ when I’m _talking_ , Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, the class will be over soon and then you can _talk_ , but right now _I_ am _talking_.” The ghost blinked slowly a couple times at the pair before resuming his lecture. Albus got out a piece of parchment and nervously began writing to avoid further warning while Scorpius waited a bit and made sure the girls sitting behind them couldn’t hear their conversation.

          “So you know how Rose seems to be really into me lately?” Albus’ fist tightened under the table, “Well, I’m planning on asking her out on a date at dinner.” The tip of Albus’ pencil snapped under the pressure he was now putting on it.

          “That didn’t work out very well the last time you tried that now did it...” Albus’ words came out with a slight intention to hurt his friend’s feelings, but Scorpius just pursed his lips and sighed.

“Well things change, Rose actually pays attention to me now.”

“Scorpius, you already have people who care about you and pay attention to you, why does some stupid girl mean so much?” The sight of Rose watching from across the aisle only exacerbated Albus’ frustration.

“Class dismissed! I hope you all are excited for the rest of the year of learning.”

“Oh thank God…” Albus hurried out the door to potions class, swiftly descending the warping staircases while Scorpius clumsily stumbled behind him.

“Wait up, Albus! You know I’m no good at getting around very quickly!” The smaller boy looked behind him and gave a bit of a chuckle.

“Well I guess that’s just something you’ll have to work on isn’t it, Malfoy?” Scorpius finally caught up with him when they reached the classroom where Professor Hopkins was greeting the students filing in while setting up ingredients at the stations.

          “Welcome students, please quickly sit down at the seats assigned to you. Just look for the ones with your names on them.” Rose was the first to speak up about the change of seating decision.

"But Professor, wouldn’t it more sensible if we pick our seats ourselves so we can have partners we work best with?” The elderly witch turned to her with a smirk.

          “Miss Granger-Weasley, I understand your apprehensions, but I thought it would be a good idea to shake things up a bit. It’ll be good for you all to get to know your classmates better!” Rose let out an irritated groan. The boys looked at each other before doing the same.  They walked down the aisles of desks looking for their names labeled on any of them before Rose made an excited noise that pierced Albus’ ears.

          “Scorpius! We’re paired together right here!” Rose waved at her new partner as he looked apologetically at his friend before walking over and sitting down next to her. Albus found the desk with his name on it and took a seat next to a Hufflepuff girl.

“You’re Kyra, right?” the girl nodded at his greeting.

“And you’re Albus.”

 “Yeah.” Albus sighed and picked up a textbook. “Well, I guess we’re partners now.” Kyra turned around, her striking blue eyes intimidating Albus.

“Look, I know you’re disappointed that you’re not paired with your friend over there, but try not to screw up my grade, okay?” she spat out, the tip of her nose nearly touching Albus’.

“I’m really not appreciating the hostility in your voice right now.”

Kyra rolled her eyes and the pair went back to writing notes.

_I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be patient…_

* * *

At dinner, Albus and Scorpius got the chance to catch up on the events of the day. In between stuffing his face with biscuits, Scorpius gave his friend his opinions on everything from the teachers to the new textbooks and note-taking strategies.

          “I really like Professor Norwell, I mean, we haven’t really had the chance to learn much in Defense Against the Dark Arts yet, but he seems pretty nice!” Albus could only nod his head. He was too busy admiring the lovable idiot in front of him to hold the conversation.

“Hey, Albus you keep staring at me.” He really needed to learn how to control his daydreams.

“Um, you’re just…funny, is all.” Scorpius shrugged and swallowed a bite.

“And potions class with Rose! I can’t believe the luck it took for us to be paired together. It’s amazing!”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be great for you.” Scorpius’ excitement dissipated at his friend’s upset tone.

“I’m sorry, mate, I know you’re used to us being together in potions class. But how’s Kyra treating you?” Albus rolled his eyes and took a drink.

“Something tells me we’re not going to work very well together.”

“Yeah she is a bit of a hothead sometimes, but she’s quite the whiz when it comes to making potions.” Dinner came to a close and Scorpius nervously stood up. Suddenly, Albus remembered the plans he had previously been told about.

“Alright, mate, wish me luck!”

“Hold on, you can’t be serious about doing this right now?” Albus grabbed onto his friend’s sleeve, practically begging him not to go.

“Come on, Al, if I don’t ask her sooner or later, I’ll never get around to it.”

Scorpius broke Albus grip and gave him a pat on the shoulder before striding over to the Gryffindor table. His cheeks exploded with crimson as he stuttered trying to get Rose’s attention.

“Why is he wasting all his energy on _her!_?” Albus laid his face in his hands while watching his worst nightmare come true, jealousy rising in his stomach.

“So, uh, Rose. I know we’ve been getting a lot closer lately, and –“

Rose smiled brightly and her group of girlfriends excitedly whispered to each other.

“Scorpius…”

“Rose, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a date sometime? Um, with me?”

She turned to her friends, who egged her on to answer.

“Yes! Of Course!”


	8. Missing Comfort

Fall hit Hogwarts unusually hard this time around, especially for Albus. The weather got colder, the trees’ beauty faded away and the birds by the castle stopped singing.  Scorpius took Rose to one of the towers of the castle on a picnic for their first date. Before the event, he couldn’t stop telling all of the exciting predictions he had for their relationship to Albus, who could only smile and nod with the disappointments instead of bearing to tell his friend the truth. September was not off to a great start.

 The heartbroken boy retreated to the library during the night of to avoid thinking too much about what his friend was up to in the tower. He never was too fond of books, but he had found a particularly relatable tale about a princess who was secretly in love with a wizard from a rival kingdom. The short story ended with the object of the princess’s affections being banished by the king and marrying someone else in a faraway land, leaving her devastated and lonely. Albus hoped that that would be where the similarities with his current life ended.

He continued to flip through pages of random books and texts, reading lines over and over again without learning anything because his brain was already preoccupied with something else.

_I hope it goes terrible._

Albus’ mind turned to bitter thoughts. No matter how hard he tried to control his vitriol, he could never be anything but angry and disappointed at the budding couple. The tired boy groaned and smashed his forehead to the table.

“Is that a new study exercise?” Lily walked over and pulled up a chair before another student shushed the pair. “Oh, sssshh yourself!”

“You know Lily, you might want to consider being more cordial around others…” The girl lifted her eyebrows and looked up mockingly.

“I _have_ considered it! It just doesn't come that easy to me. Anyway, what’s got you down, Albie?”  Lily picked up a book and scanned over it, clearly just looking for something to do with her hands.

“Scorpius and Rose…” Albus mumbled.

“Ah… _Those_ two.” Lily looked at her brother with pity and reassurance. “Oh, come on I’m sure they’re having a terribly awkward time and they’ll date for a couple weeks, realize they’re not meant to be together and break up.”

“But Lily, they work great together. He’s been after her for years, there’s no way he’ll forget about her at this point.” Lily gulped and rubbed her brother’s shoulder.

“Albus, I know how you feel about Scorpius.” Cheeks already going red, Albus tried to defend himself.

“Of course, he’s my best friend, he’s very important to me, I don’t try to hide that.“

“No, Albus, I know how you really feel about him.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“Albus. We've always been closer than either of us with James and you know I've always been able to tell when you're upset and why.” Albus cursed himself for being so transparent.

“Then you know why this hurts so much?”

“Believe me, I know. Apparently, I’m not only girl with an interest in Ollie Thatch and I’m losing out to all the girls flirting with him. It’s incredibly frustrating, especially considering all these girls don’t really even like him for his shy, adorable self, they just think he’s cute, and, an-“ Lily saw the dejected look coming from her brother and decided to listen to him instead.

“Lily, I understand how it feels, but I guess sometimes there are better people for those we love.” Lily leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

“Albus, I’m really sorry about Scorpius. I don’t know what to tell you, but I know everything will turn out all right in the end. I have to be back before fourth year curfew, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Lily.” Albus dumped his nose in a book once again.

Eventually, the staff closed the library and ushered the handful of students into the halls a few minutes before curfew for the younger students. As fifth years, Albus knew that Scorpius and Rose had another hour of time before having to be in their common rooms, and he really didn’t want to be awake for Scorpius’ celebration. He trudged across the courtyard for a bit, trying to distract himself with stars in the clear night, despite the cold.

He pictured the two of them, wrapped up in a heating-charmed blanket, talking and watching the same stars he was alone under. Tears fell to the ground while other students simply walked around halls. Albus felt almost more alone in the world than he ever had before, his best friend and the boy he loved had fallen in love with somebody else, and his only ally was his little sister.

Wiping his eyes, he then continued on to the Slytherin common room, where the few students that were up at the time glanced at him and each other, wondering what happened to make their housemate eyes so red and puffy. Albus waved shortly and awkwardly gave them a quick “good night” before going off to bed.

Scorpius saw Rose any time he could and it seemed to Albus that he was little more than an afterthought in Scorpius’ mind now. He angrily shut his curtains and laid down, hoping to fall asleep before Scorpius came in.

The infatuated boy swooped into the dormitory, wide eyed and smiling ear to ear. Albus quickly dried his eyes and cringed in anticipation for Scorpius’ excited comments. Scorpius was never one to keep his joy to himself. Whenever the two boys would talk about their summers on the Hogwarts express, Albus would always sit and listen attentively to his friend’s various memories: trips to the Ministry of Magic, apparating across Europe, practicing magic with his dad. Scorpius let everything out in front of Albus, who enjoyed nothing more.

“Albus! Everything went exactly as planned!” Albus heard the excitement even in his whispers and tried pretending he was asleep.

“Albus?” even the exaggerated snores coming from the bed didn’t discourage Scorpius. “Albus…”  eventually he figured it would be rude to wake his friend up so late at night and went to bed thinking about his new beau. Albus went to sleep five feet away, cursing himself for letting his happy ending go to somebody else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really got lazy in writing this. I still have the story in my head but i only ever write when i get a burst of love for Scorbus. It's kind of faded out of my mind, but I really want to finish this just to say i finished it and finally give the characters some closure in my mind.


	9. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ARE Y'ALL READY FOR PAIN

“Party?”

          “Yeah, the fourth years and up are having a party in one of the refurbished dungeons on Halloween. They expanded it so it’ll be able hold a ton of people!”

          Albus didn’t know how he felt about the idea. He was always more of a keep-to-himself kind of person and that loud environment didn’t seem to be his cup of tea. He would rather catch some much-needed time with Scorpius. Their friendship had been on thin ice for a couple months since Rose and he became official. Apparently the separation in houses wouldn’t keep the two teens apart.

          Albus strutted to Scorpius sitting on the side of the courtyard, for once by himself.

          _What an anomaly_

          “H-hey, Scorp.” The nervous boy sat down on the same bench but kept distance between the two of them.

          “Hey, Al!” Scorpius’ face lit up which in turn made Albus feel more comfortable. “It feels like we never really get to hang out all that much anymore. Have you been avoiding me?” Albus tried to control his irritation. He didn’t particularly appreciate being accused of avoiding the person who seemed to be going out of his way to do exactly that.

          “Avoiding you? Absolutely not! I guess we’ve just been busy with other things.” Albus was cut off with Scorpius wrapping his arm around the other boy’s shoulders.

 “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve missed our escapades.” The nervous Potter hoped his friend wasn’t seeing how red his cheeks were turning. “Hey, uh, do you want to check out that Halloween party with me?

Albus swallowed and took a shaky breath, “That sounds nice, but how about ditching that party and just hanging out, you and me in the dorms like we used to?”

          “Al, that sounds perfect! We can play wizard’s chess and eat candy and talk about muggle things while everyone else is at that noisy party like the good ol’ days!”

Scorpius’ excitement energized his friend and soon they both were smiling their heads off making plans for the holiday.

“Promise you’ll be there?”

“Of course, mate!” Both boys pulled bright smiles at each other.

“Y’know, Scorp, I feel like this is going to be the most fun I’ve had in a while.” Scorpius laid an arm on Albus and chuckled while the two got up and headed to the Great Hall for dinner.

* * *

          Albus set up a corner of games and sweets in the Slytherin common room, making sure everything was in perfect position. He had eagerly been awaiting this night ever since its inception. The feeling of actually enjoying himself with Scorpius was something he had been missing for a while. After planning the occasion, they had only seen each other a few times outside of their classes, in which they didn’t even sit next to each other anyway, but he had held onto those moments as if they would be the last. However, their relationship did seem to be building back up after the past couple months of growing apart. Albus was glad he finally got an occasion with him again, even if the party next door was rather loud, although it seemed to be taking the other boy longer than expected to show up.

The ruckus happening in the other dungeons reverberated through the walls, making it hard for him to focus, especially since he hadn’t seen Scorpius for a while and the time they agreed on meeting at had passed about 20 minutes ago.

          _Oh my lord, where is he?_

A student walked into the room seeming a bit intoxicated, his clothes messy and clinging to his body as he stumbled to the dormitories.

          “Oh, um, Lawrence have you seen Scorpius around?”

          Lawrence stopped for a second and squinted at Albus for a moment before answering in a half-mumble.

          “He was at the party last I saw him dancin’ with his girlfriend…But I’m not exactly familiar with the guy so it might have just been some random blondie, I dunno.” Albus’ heart sank.

          _Are you kidding me?_

          He huffed out, angry and half a second from a tears, but managed to make his way to the other dungeon. Walking in, Albus immediately remembered why parties never were his scene. There was a live amateur band playing and the room was filled with noise and flashing lights. Several students seemed tipsy and he could see a handful of couples making out. He pushed through to a table with some students he recognized.

          “Are the parties here usually this bad? I mean, there’s no shame in enjoying oneself but does this seem safe?”

          The thankfully sober girl shrugged at him.

          “Not usually, the people here seem to be especially rowdy tonight. Wait, what are you doing here? I never figured you for a party type!”

          “I’m usually not, but I’m looking for someone. Have any of you guys seen Scorpius?” Several gestures aimed him towards an alcove on the other side of the room. Albus could barely make out a giggling Rose kissing Scorpius, who seemed to be rather enjoying this new activity, gladly returning each one. He turned to the crowd at the table and tried to wash the image from his mind.

          _I feel like I’m going to throw up_

_“_ Any of you guys have a drink? Preferably with alcohol?”

          “You look white as a ghost! Are you sure that’ll make you feel better, mate?” a worried seventh year asked before letting go of his bottle.

          “Absolutely.” Albus took a swig.

          Several drinks later, he was dancing along with all the other students, all thought of why he came in the first place was replaced with the excitement of his first time getting drunk. He fed off of the crowd’s enthusiasm and sunk into it. Faces and smiles of people he barely recognized were all he could see and he could barely hear anything through the raucous of screams, some of them his own.

Several girls had kissed him. Their lips felt soft, but Albus felt no spark or excitement in any of them. They did nothing for him. The half-makeout sessions with these girls didn’t make him feel anything no matter how much he forced himself, as if something was missing.

          _Albus_

          “Huh?” He was distracted for a second before dismissing the sound.

          “Albus! ALBUS!” Time slowed down when he and Scorpius made eye contact. He had a look of shock on his face, but Albus could feel the pity as well. Tears started welling up in his eyes and he quickly stumbled out of the dungeon and ran down the stone hallways.

          “Albus, wait!” Scorpius crashed through the door after him.“Albus, please! Talk to me!” A spark flew past his face and the brick next to him turned to dust.

          “Look, I know you must be angry, but please let me apologize.” Another stone exploded. Albus ran up the stairs, his pursuer barely making the turn and frantically trying to catch him.

          “Albus, Stop!!” The running ceased and the only sounds were the crackling of the torches lighting the hallway and teardrops hitting the floor.

“Look, I’m sorry!” Albus knew Scorpius was actually telling the truth this time.

“I’m sorry! Okay, I’m really, really sorry. I shouldn’t have gone back on my promise. But you have to understand-“ his sentence was cut short.

          “Oh, I understand perfectly fucking fine, Malfoy,” Albus said harshly, “You think I don’t hear what you think about me? What you tell people gets back to me, Scorpius. That you think I’m a _lot._ That you think I’m clingy.”

          “I-I never said tha-“ Scorpius tried to defend himself, but he couldn’t lie to his friend, especially when he knew that he _had_ said those things behind his back. Things that were untrue and unkind and he didn’t really believe but he’d do anything to keep Albus away.

          “You did. We both know it. I thought, maybe, at least, I could get one last time together with you or a chance to get our friendship back, but…” he paused and took a deep breath. “I guess that’s not going to happen.”

          Scorpius could hear his heart beat. His stomach twisted into endless knots and he was doing everything he could to hold back tears. Albus just let his fall. Several moments passed with neither of them really knowing what to say or what to do until the already intoxicated boy spoke up.

“I like you, Scorpius. And not in a friend way like we thought, I **like** you like you, and I hate you and Rose being together because I’m jealous! I’m jealous of her because I want to be with you! I want to be with you so badly.” The last few of Albus’ words came out as a whisper for fear of what they would mean to Scorpius, who was taken aback by his honesty.

 “Y-you…But I thought…You were kissing those girls…?” Albus shook his head.

 “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Scorpius…” He reached out a hand to touch Scorpius’ shoulder, but the other boy winced at the contact and stepped back. He never used to do that before.

“Scorpius…” More tears were beginning to fall now, “It’s still me, I’m still Albus, nothing has to change, please, I can’t…” he began to hyperventilate.  “I can’t lose you again, not like this...” Albus said, desperately trying to get the words out.

          Scorpius’ face contorted into something that seemed to to be a mixture of pity and disgust. “I’m sorry, Albus, but I don’t think we can be friends anymore.” He said plainly, his cold manner startling the crying boy in front of him.

          “It’s obvious being around me causes you pain, and I can’t stand making you feel this way. So I think it’d be best if we find different people.” Albus stood back shocked and could no longer hold any emotions back. Tears fell from Scorpius’ eyes now too as he looked at the damage he was causing to one of the most important people in his life.

          “You’re uncomfortable with me, aren’t you, Scorpius? You think I’m disgusting.”

          Scorpius pursed his lips. Albus straightened himself, knowing exactly why he couldn’t answer the question and refusing to look Scorpius in the eye.

          “Well, then I’ll leave you and Rose alone. I will never talk to you again. You will never have to see me like this again, in fact, you’ll barely ever have to see me at all.” Scorpius put his hand over his mouth. “I will never put myself in your life again. It will be as if Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter never met.”

          “Albus, please…”

          “Goodbye, Scorpius.” Albus took a heavy step backwards, and then another, and soon he was out of sight, leaving Scorpius alone in the deserted hallway.

          Albus crashed into the third floor girls’ bathroom and kicked open a stall. In a hurry he slammed the door and barely noticed it catching his hand or the cracking of his fingers. He was too numb at this point to care about the rest of his body anyhow.

 Unable to hold in his emotions any longer, the boy broke down and he used his hand to stifle his sobs and gasps. The pain was almost unbearable. He had lost his best friend in the world, and there was no getting him back. Albus was completely alone now. His vision blurred and he started feeling woozy. He began retching, feeling like the alcohol in his body was forcing its way out. His heart hurt so badly that it tried to pull his insides out. Falling to the ground, he no longer had any fight left in him, and he closed his eyes wondering if it would be a bad thing if they never opened again.


	10. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so bad oh my god please enjoy

Albus woke up in the same stall he had passed out in, vaguely smelling vomit and alcohol. He tried to get up, but his vision was blurry and his body too sore to support his weight for long. Judging from the sunlight coming in through the dusty windows, he guessed it must have been the early morning. Blood covered his sleeve and the scent of copper came from just under his nose. Reaching up to touch it, he pulled his hand into vision and noticed not only the crusted blood but also the grotesquely misshapen fingers.  
Hyperventilating as the realization of what transpired the night before came to him, the image of Scorpius and Rose’s affection and the sounds of his friend’s abandonment reverberated in Albus’ brain along with the pain from his clearly broken hand. Silent, stinted breaths came from the boy’s mouth and tears fell softly down his cheek. He couldn’t even feel his hand let alone get up to move so he laid there for hours, half hoping somebody would find him and half hoping that nobody ever found him again.

* * *

“Goodbye Scorpius.”  
Albus’ words hit Scorpius like a train. It took everything to keep from bursting into tears right then and there.  
How did it end up like this? How could I do this to him?  
While his former friend ran to some god-forsaken part of the castle, Scorpius was frozen and holding his hand against his mouth to cover the sobs.  
He stumbled back to the Slytherin common room before realizing that Albus was probably already in bed and he wouldn’t dare sleep in the bed next to him knowing the damage he’d done. Fanning the fireplace a bit, Scorpius took a spot on the nearby couch and covered himself with blankets, the heat of the embers calming his shivers for a while and allowing him to forget his shame in sleep.

* * *

“Scorpius.”  
The boy stirred a bit.  
“Scorpius, wake up, something’s happened to Albus. We can’t find him, he didn’t come back to bed at all last night and nobody’s been able to figure out where he went. Does he usually stay out this late?” The hazy boy cleared his eyes before quickly getting up and looking at the group of prefects quietly worrying for their housemate.  
“Do you have any idea what happened to him? You two used to be inseparable.” Asked one of them.  
“N-no, I-I…I have no clue where he could be now, he and I had an argument last night but I don’t know where he got off to, I’m sure he just fell asleep somewhere in the castle.”  
“Well it’s our responsibility to make sure all of the students are in bed and safe so we have to find out where he is.”  
Scorpius paced around the room, thinking. “H-he might be in the abandoned third floor girls’ bathroom, we always used to go there when we wanted to be by ourselves.” The head girl informed professor McGonagall of the missing student.  
The faculty rushed into the bathroom and looked in all of the stalls while a hungover Albus cursed himself silently for his sorry situation.  
“Oh lord…” whispered Minerva when she opened the stall. The floor was covered in blood and vomit as well as Albus’ shirt.  
“Somebody call Madam Pomfrey!”

* * *

“How are you feeling, Mr. Potter?” Madam Pomfrey asked Albus once his eyes started opening.  
“Hungover, Professor.”  
“Yep, alcohol will do that.You’re lucky the staff found you when they did, that wizard’s whiskey can mess loads with your insides. Much worse than regular muggle alcohol! You’ll need at least a good two days in that bed if you want to get better.”  
Albus wondered if Scorpius could have been one of the students to find him. He was too sick to see who had come.  
“Goodness, gracious. Chugging wizard’s whiskey for your first drink, even you have to know that was a stupid move, Mr. Potter!” He blushed. “And don’t worry about your hand. I set the bones correctly, but you’ll still need a week or two in a cast to help it heal quickly.”  
“You truly are magical, professor.” Said the sickly boy quietly before taking a swig of the hangover cure the nurse had handed him. It tasted disgusting, but anything was better than the woozy pain that covered his stomach at the moment.  
“And, Albus…” Madam Pomfrey leaned in closer. “Please, for both our sakes, don’t make a habit of drinking whenever you’re sad. There are much better solutions to your problems.” Right after Madam Pomfrey had finished her sentence, Lily burst into the room in tears.  
“Albus, I’m so sorry!!” screamed his clearly distraught sister as she ran up to his bed. “I should have been there for you, I should have never let you take that drink! I should have made sure you were safe and happy like mom and dad told me to!!”  
“Lily!” Albus tried to calm her down, especially because her squeezing his hand was causing him considerable pain as well as exasperating his headache. “I’m fine, I promise.”  
“No, you’re not fine! You have a broken hand and a messed up body and you might be an alcoholic now! All because I was so busy with the party and Oliver and, and—“  
“Oliver, the one you’ve been pining over for weeks?”  
“He kissed me last night and I was too caught up to notice what you were doing.” Sniveled out Lily through the tears.  
Albus chuckled, forgetting his misfortune for a second. Madam Pomfrey shuffled Lily out of the hospital wing and tended to the other students in the area while Albus floated into sleep.  
It seemed everyone with any acquaintance to Albus visited him for the next few days. A large part of the upperclassmen talked with him for the first time and the entire Slytherin house signed his cast. Lily came in every hour to see how he was doing, bringing her new boyfriend and his sister to see his recovery. Ollie and Sam actually brought large amounts of candy to tide him over in between the hard-to-swallow potions.  
Throughout what ended up being six days in the wing, an extended stay Madam Pomfrey attributed to his body’s inexperience with alcohol of any kind, he even received a handful of letters from his parents, filled with words of affirmation and oftentimes comical worries. They made Albus smile nonetheless.  
Everyone came. Except Scorpius.  
Sitting on a tower by himself, wrapped in numerous blankets and articles of clothing for warmth, Scorpius pondered over the events of the past few weeks. He cursed himself for being so careless with Albus’ feelings and struggled to come to grips with how he really felt. He couldn’t believe he had been so cruel so as to leave his former friend in such a lonely place simply because he was afraid of being attracted to him.  
But I have Rose! And she’s a girl! It didn’t matter if dating a girl was the easier choice to make, Scorpius knew that his relationship with Rose wasn’t really making him happy and although he found her fairly attractive and enjoyed the occasional conversation with her, a long-term relationship with her was not helping him get over his friend at all. Yes, the kisses were nice and it made him feel good to have somebody intimately attracted to him, but she could be a definite know-it-all and her overconfidence clashed with Scorpius’ kind-hearted, soft-spoken nature. Placing his freezing face in his hands, Scorpius groaned and thought long and hard about his best friend.  
I really am in love with Albus.  
“Feeling down, Scorp?” Rose asked as she sat down next to him, coaxing a mumble from the other boy. “…Is it about Albus? Look, I-I know you guys had a lot of trouble going on, but-“  
“You don’t know anything”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to read it on wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/306935858-albus-potter-and-his-fifth-year-infatuation


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